Letter to the editor: Teen learns life-changing lesson

Posted Jul 1, 2017

I am a 17-year-old high school student and I wrote this as a part of a class I took with the Traffic Circle Program at Center for Restorative Programs. I would like to talk about defensive driving and distracted driving and the impacts they have had on me and my community. Driving defensively is a great way to drive while out on the road. Driving defensively can mean every bit of difference between making it home safely or winding up in a wreck. Unfortunately, I learned this first hand last November.

I was in a head to head crash at an intersection on Highway 285. Luckily nobody was seriously injured however the family in the other vehicle has most likely experienced some negative implications of the wreck. I have also had some issues since the wreck. Now I am very timid of riding in vehicles and more prone to panicking while behind the wheel. I’m working to improve this for myself but the moral of my story is that it all could have been avoided if I had just paid attention and driven defensively.

Most accidents are caused by distracted driving and I’m writing this to tell everyone to please do their best to drive defensively and pay attention. This way the road will be a much safer place for all of us. I have witnessed horrible things due to distracted driving and I hope that with this message I can make a difference and that folks will be more observant and careful on the road. Thanks!

Anonymous, 17 years old

Editor’s note: The Courier’s policy is not to run letters without the person’s name but is making an exception under this special circumstance.

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